As always, America and its athletes took center stage at this Olympics in France. Katy Ledecky and company led the stars and stripes to the top of the table in medals for the 15th time in a row, failing to do so in Barcelona 1992.
Once again, the number-one global superpower showed out in both team and individual events, winning a 6th-consecutive women’s basketball medal and several events in both the men’s and women’s track, as well as taking the lead in the number of swimming goals. America’s beset and brightest took over as millions of their countrymen felt a sense of renewed pride and patriotism in their accomplishments. The entire country rallied behind these athletes, and a few stuck out as top performers.
Katie Ledecky is simply the greatest women’s swimmer of all time, and she rivals Michael Phelps as the greatest overall swimmer. The two Montgomery County, MD, natives combined for 40-something gold medals in their careers, and what is most impressive is that Ledecky is far from done at 27 in a sport where female swimmers peak in their teens. Ledecky defended her titles in the 800 and 1500 meter freestyle with whopping leads, setting a new Olympic record in the 1500m and earning a bronze in the 400 m freestyle and silver in the 4 x 200 relay. Not only that, but she remained extremely calm and collected when Australia’s swimmers took potshots at her and the team and tried to drum up a rivalry. Her rival Ariane Titmus only won one gold medal in the 400m freestyle.
The US always loves an underdog story, and the men’s gymnastics team was certainly one of them. World champion and pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik led Team USA to its first team all-round medal with a great performance on the pommel horse, and the glasses-clad star captured the hearts of Americans on and off social media. He took a nap during the competition before it was time to compete and the Internet loved it, comparing him to a real-life Clark Kent. Nedoroscik has a condition where his pupils remain permanently dilated, but that did not stop him from winning another individual medal in the pommel horse with bronze. After that, a new star for Team USA was born.
South Carolina’s Quincy Hall put on a show in the 400-meter run for his first medal in the Olympics. This race is completely different from other track races as it is too long to sprint and not short enough to jog, so the runners go at about 98%. Hall was down a few lengths in sixth place coming into the back 100 as lactic acid took over his body and he was searching for any ounce of strength left. Knowing that it was do or die, Hall dug in with everything he had left to run one of the greatest back stretches of all time, and it was one of the fastest times ever at 43.4 seconds. This was the first time in 16 years that an American won the 400-meter, which is one of the most grueling sprints in track. Hall’s name is forever etched in the history books as he dug out every meter, throwing form away and giving everything he had.
Cole Hocker scored another massive upset in the men’s 1500 meter race, which was regarded as one of the greatest track finishes of all time. His opponent Jakob Ingebritsen was the overwhelming favorite, but he knew he had a lack of a kick to close out the race and bury his opponents. Instead, Ingebritsen came out at an incredible pace, trying to put too much distance between him and the field before the race was over. He ended up leading the pack until the final 200 meters, until Hocker had something to say about it. Hocker tried to move to the inside on the last turn but Ingebritsen blocked him, and Hocker took it personally. He bounced back and gathered steam to gun it down the line, blowing past Ingebritsen and the world record holding Scot Kerr and establishing a new moment in the annals of American middle-distance running.
Whether the athletes brought home medals in Paris or represented America with grace, we here at Sportsville are incredibly proud of each one of America’s 592 athletes. It takes incredible courage to represent over 380 million people and compete against the world’s best, and so we applaud you for putting the nation on the pinnacle of athletic excellence.
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